


Hurry Home to You

by moodlighting



Series: To Be With You [2]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dogs, Established Relationship, Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Snow, Teasing, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26534338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moodlighting/pseuds/moodlighting
Summary: They’d found her shortly after settling in for an extended stay at the Polish house, a dirty, wandering mutt with a happy, tongue-lolling smile and the exact kind of warm brown eyes Nicky had a history of being unable to refuse. They’d taken her in, and despite the series of much-needed warm baths she’d indulged in, the name—unlike the smell—had stuck.Nicky, Joe, and a dog named Onion.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: To Be With You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929382
Comments: 9
Kudos: 177





	Hurry Home to You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fakeaheartattack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakeaheartattack/gifts).



> Happy birthday dearest Kasia <3

It was the weight of a warm snout landing against his pillow and a cool, wet nose snuffling against his ear that woke Nicky from his dreams. Blinking blearily into the darkness of the room, he turned his head to find the gleam of two eyes staring back at him, unblinking, an inch away from his face.

Nicky sighed. The instinctive tension that had stiffened his shoulders, readying him for a fight, was already melting away. They were safe here; his heart and mind and the warm body at his side reminded him of that. 

Relaxing back into his pillow, Nicky’s eyes slipped helplessly shut again, drawing him back toward the depths of sleep. “Do you need to go outside, _piccola Cipolla_?” he whispered, voice hoarse.

He received a soft whine in reply, accompanied by the steady thump of a tail against the side of the mattress.

“Okay... _si_...” Nicky sighed again. “ _Un momento_.”

The happy click of Cipolla’s nails against the hardwood floor faded away as she trotted out of the bedroom, going to wait for him by the back door. Nicky knew that if he was not up in the next minute, she would soon be back to remind him.

Pulling the sheets away from his body, Nicky sat up carefully, trying not to shift the bed too much and wake Joe. His love was still fast asleep, pressed along the length of Nicky’s body, taking up the other half of Nicky’s pillow. Even when they had an entire bed to share, and sleeping spooned together in defensive positioning was no longer necessary, Joe always found Nicky in the night anyway. 

Joe grumbled in his sleep, scooting closer to Nicky’s side, seeking his warmth even as Nicky pulled away. Nicky smiled down at him.

“ _Dispiace, amore mio_ ,” he whispered to him. He leaned down and pressed a parting kiss to Joe’s temple, even though he was only going to the backyard. “I will return.”

Nicky didn’t bother to flip on any lights as he stumbled through the house, still half asleep. He trailed the back of his hand along the walls to avoid tripping over any furniture until he reached the sliding glass door, where, as expected, Cipolla was waiting patiently.

Taking a coat from the nearby hooks and shrugging it on, Nicky unlocked the door and let Cipolla slip out before him. The coat was obviously Joe’s, with the way it pulled snug across the breadth of Nicky’s shoulders, and the pair of threadbare slippers he stepped into also seemed to be Joe’s. They were close enough to the same size that it did not matter; they’d spent the last millennia trading clothes of all shapes and origins, wearing each other’s love in every place they wandered. 

Zipping the coat closed, Nicky followed Cipolla outside, his eyes tracing her paw prints through the freshly fallen snow until they disappeared into the darkness outside the reach of the porch light. Their backyard was an endless stretch of countryside, black at night and beautiful during the day, perfect for long walks with Joe and Cipolla. 

Poland in winter was cold but welcoming. Tonight, the light of the half moon above Nicky’s head was shrouded by the heavy gray clouds steadily dusting snow across the landscape. Nicky’s breath misted in the freezing air as he watched Cipolla sniff through the snow, seeking the grass below, clumps of snowflakes sticking to her fur as she sought out the perfect place to do her business.

They’d found her shortly after settling in for an extended stay at the Polish house, a dirty, wandering mutt with a happy, tongue-lolling smile and the exact kind of warm brown eyes Nicky had a history of being unable to refuse. They’d taken her in, and despite the series of much-needed warm baths she’d indulged in, the name—unlike the smell—had stuck. _Cipolla puzzolente_. Their beloved stinky Onion, who turned out to be much more of a _Cipolla dolci_. 

“Sweet Cipolla,” Nicky called out to her as she kicked at the snow to cover up her mess. She paused in her ministrations to glance back at him, eyes twinkling. “Let’s return to bed.”

With a delighted _woof_ , she sprinted back through the snow to him, stopping at Nicky’s feet for some well-deserved ear scritches. “ _Brava ragazza_ ,” he praised her, smiling as he kneaded his thumbs gently under her floppy ears. 

Together, they made their way back into the house. Nicky stepped out of the threadbare slippers and hung up Joe’s coat, and Cipolla obediently lifted each paw to let him towel off the wet snow before they returned to bed.

Joe had spread out in their absence, lying flat on his back across the middle of the mattress. Kneeing across the bed to reach him, Nicky laid down gently at his side, fitting himself into the curve of Joe’s open arm and pillowing his head against his shoulder. He tucked his face into Joe’s neck, letting his ice-cold nose press against his sleep-warm skin. 

Joe flinched away immediately, a hand shooting up to protect his neck from the intrusive chill. Even if he had managed to sleep through Nicky and Cipolla’s comings and goings, he was certainly awake now. 

“Nicolò,” Joe groaned, slapping Nicky’s freezing fingers away from where he’d snuck them under Joe’s sleep clothes, splaying them across the warmth of his belly. “You are so cruel to me, my heart. First you abandon me in our bed, then you try to drive me away entirely with this mistreatment. Such a wicked man.”

Despite his ongoing protestations, Joe reached out and wrapped his arms fully around Nicky’s body, gathering him close. Nicky settled in, snug against him. He kept his cold toes to himself and let the sleeve of his sweater fall down over his hand to protect Joe from any lingering chill as he reached up to touch his neck. Gently, he turned Joe’s face toward him.

“Forgive me, my love. I had to go meet a lady,” Nicky murmured, taking time to press four lingering kisses to Joe’s lips. 

Joe leaned into his affections, so freely given, and hummed contentedly. By the sound of it, Nicky could tell he was already close to sleep once more, now that he had Nicky in his arms again. “Well, I hope she was beautiful,” Joe said with a sleepy smile.

At the end of the bed, Cipolla had settled into her favorite spot, curling up in the dip between Nicky and Joe’s legs, completing their nighttime arrangement.

“You know no beauty could turn my head from you,” Nicky said. He kissed Joe one final time. “ _Bellissimo_ ,” he whispered, soft as the snow falling against the window glass. “I will love you forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Slow Show by The National. Thank you so much for reading! <3
> 
> [fic post](https://mooodlighting.tumblr.com/post/629636938375233536/hurry-home-to-you) | [my writing blog](https://mooodlighting.tumblr.com)


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